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Sunday, 17 May 2009

I've realised that the roll-on, roll-off ferry was designed after the alpacas habit of lifting its tail to use the latrine...This week, I went to Ashill Alpacas to 'help' and witness my first alpaca shearing - it was useful to see what's involved so I can be properly prepared for when mine are done, and to deal with the fleeces carefully. Thanks to Heather and Keith Rushforth for accommodating me.Continuing to try and encourage my shy feeder, Minnie - she's the one due to birth in a fortnight - I've tried having extra bowls to occupy the other dominant pair which occasionally works, but she's become more shy with encroaching birth - this afternoon, I herded them into the compound, closed the gate but only the over-weight one was interested - so I lined up the three bowls in front of the gates and opened them, so they would have to walk past to get out - bingo!, they coudn't walk past without sampling the feed and Minnie did have a good nibble -but does anyone have any tried and tested methods?

Trove - there's a word you never hear associated with anything other than treasure - seems a bit of a waste of a word...

Just received the new album by The Manic Street Preachers - a signed copy - it's great that they are recording and performing again, they're previous album was good too.

Tango, one of our hens, has been sitting on a clutch of eggs for a while, and yesterday four of them hatched - competition for our incubator.

1 comment:

Congrats on the chicks!! We had a cria today - wee boy on, wait for it.... day 378! So you may have a way to go. Re the feed - we tend to go for the opposite approach of separating the dominant ones. Maybe your shy one is normal and the other two dominant? We do our llama boys in separate stalls for that reason. The pacas are no bother - it's just a scrum though!

About Me

Starting with 3 female alpacas in August 2008, this blog' follows the development of an alpaca breeding and fleece enterprise: the husbandry, breeding, managing the land and the infrastructure - shelters, fencing, drainage etc., while keeping a day job going, and hopefully in a light-hearted way. Also see our 'sister' site: www.appleknit.co.uk for info on spinning, felting etc.
I enjoy pop and rock music. 'Shooting Stars', with Reeves and Mortimer, makes me cry with laughter - also the IT Crowd, and Miranda.
If you are looking to buy alpacas or fibre products, for any information or guidance, please e-mail: dave@applevalealpacas.co.uk
Web-site: www.applevalealpacas.co.uk